This invention relates generally to imaging and, more particularly, to scalable multislice imaging systems.
In at least some imaging systems generally referred as computed tomography (CT) systems, an x-ray source projects a fan-shaped beam which is collimated to lie within an X-Y plane of a Cartesian coordinate system and generally referred to as the "imaging plane". The x-ray beam passes through the object being imaged, such as a patient. The beam, after being attenuated by the object, impinges upon an array of radiation detectors. The intensity of the attenuated beam radiation received at the detector array is dependent upon the attenuation of the x-ray beam by the object. Each detector element of the array produces a separate electrical signal that is a measurement of the beam attenuation at the detector location. The attenuation measurements from all the detectors are acquired separately to produce a transmission profile.
In known third generation CT systems, the x-ray source and the detector array are rotated with a gantry within the imaging plane and around the object to be imaged so that the angle at which the x-ray beam intersects the object constantly changes. X-ray sources typically include x-ray tubes, which emit the x-ray beam at a focal spot. X-ray detectors typically include a collimator for collimating x-ray beams received at the detector, a scintillator adjacent the collimator, and photodiodes adjacent the scintillator.
The detector typically is coupled to a data acquisition system which converts the analog signals output by the detector into digital form. In a scalable multislice imaging system, it would be desirable to provide a data acquisition system which can be easily and simply operated to collect one, two, or more slices of data. Such system also should enable fast scanning speeds with good image quality, z-axis resolution, and a low x-ray tube load.